Rebel Rebel

By Matt Morgan

Rebel Prequel: Before joining Star Wars Rebels and bringing characters like Sabine Wren to the screen, Caroline Robinson ’08 worked at DreamWorks for seven years. Copyright Lucasfilm LTD.

September 28, 2017

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Caroline Robinson ’08 found creative freedom in Star Wars animation

Striding into her San Francisco office every day, Caroline Robinson ’08 sees a sign featuring the iconic Star Wars opening crawl, A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away. “Every time I pass that sign, I get chills,” she says. Two years ago, Robinson joined Star Wars Rebels, an animated television series on Disney XD. Star Wars Rebels lives in the gap between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope. The Star Wars universe is filled with epic stories, and as associate producer, Robinson has a mission to ensure those stories are told true to the Star Wars vision—while employing the Force to meet production schedule and budget. There, the devil is in the details. Take Season 4, she says. “We have wolves. Wolves are incredibly complex for animation. The way they walk, the way they run, it’s all very complicated.” So teams need to be assigned—which means less time and money for other aspects of the episode. Robinson helps the creative team prioritize and keep things in balance. Working creatively in an iconic universe like Star Wars is a big responsibility, but Robinson says the animated series gets a lot of creative freedom. What about her favorite character? A tough call, Robinson says. But she loves Sabine Wren, a strong female role model. “When I see our show, first of all I watch it as a fan,” Robinson says. “I’m so proud of what we make.”